Redeem the Bear (Bear Valley Shifters #5)(3)

Well, by the house that used to be Nathan’s, he corrected himself. Fucking Bear Valley.

He made a wide loop and exited the woods near the training arena. In the early light, he could see the jungle gardens that had done so well in the rains of Wyoming. At the last place the main clan of Long Claws lived, water had been scarce and maintaining the gardens had been a struggle as they tried to grow enough for the entire clan to thrive through winter. Three smaller factions lived in the wilderness of Utah, Nevada and southern Montana. They would be gathering tonight in the Bridger Teton National Forest, uniting as one to destroy Bear Valley.

The thought sent a surge of pride through him. He was a part of the most powerful bear shifter clan in the world. He scanned the arena where the entire community was gathering in the early morning light. He was about to take his shot at leading them into war.

The caller blasted a long, haunting note on a horn to bring in the stragglers. Alpha challenges were mandatory for every able member. In challenges of the past, there had been merriment and bets being placed, raucous discussions over predicted winners and cheering when the caller announced the first pair of challengers. Not this time. Now, the clan was still in deep mourning over their late alpha. This challenge wasn’t supposed to happen. It was just part of the aftermath of losing Nathan. Now, no one muttered much over a whisper if they spoke at all.

A hundred bear shifters waited somberly around the edges of the arena fence as the first challengers stepped in the ring. Omar and Chris Reed were first. Brothers who had been drawn together, but anyone with instincts for battle could tell who would win this one. Chris was smarter, but Omar had the brawn and the ruthless savagery to match his size.

Two brown bears burst from the pacing men and the caller was barely out of the way before they crashed against each other, locked with ripping claws like they would kill each other. Maybe they would. More tragic things had happened in the pursuit of alpha than two brothers warring to the death for the title.

Brooks leaned against the fence railing, scratching his bottom lip with the corner of his thumbnail as he studied how Omar moved. He jerked his head to the left when he was about to rake a claw out, and his shoulders tensed when he was about to lunge.

When Chris lay in a tattered pile in the mud, Omar shifted back into his human form and yelled a victor’s cry. Merit, the woman who had come from the Long Claws to become one of Nathan’s mates, kissed him soundly when Omar returned to the fence. She had apparently picked her next target in Omar.

Greta and April stood somberly to the side, a fog of misery around them as if they didn’t want to be here, watching the challenges. Both of Nathan’s mates were dressed in black from head to toe, and Greta seemed to be sniffling. She had been inconsolable at the funeral. Those two were good examples of how a proper mate should act. Not like this Merit woman who was now looking around with her chin lifted primly in the air, as if the somber congratulations and slow applause were for herself.

Brooks made a single click against his teeth and looked away. He had no respect for alpha chasers, and less for a woman who latched onto another when her lover was barely cold in his grave.

His gaze landed on Greta again and he shook his head slowly. If he were interested in a mate, he’d take one of them just to ease their plight. They would be moved out of their roomy house and cast to the outskirts of the clan without Nathan here to garner respect.

Nathan’s appetites had been too many to foist upon one mate. Or at least, that’s what he had told Brooks when he’d had too much to drink one night. The late alpha didn’t have friends. He had picked Brooks solely for his size and battle readiness, but sometimes he thought if Nathan hadn’t been alpha, and if his bear hadn’t glutted on the power from it and pushed the humanity from him, they would’ve gotten along fine. Instead, the relationship had only existed on mutual respect, one warrior to another. He had talked about the need for several mates to continue his lineage, but it was all bullshit. Nathan had been looking for something. He’d been searching for someone to fix whatever was broken inside of him.

Brooks didn’t need anyone to fix him. If he needed something done, he’d do it his damned self. That’s where Nathan had failed. He’d chased women, mates, and lost sight of the Long Claw’s future. Brooks would cut off his arm before he let what happened to Nathan happen to him. Women muddied the mind.

He dragged his gaze back to Merit, who now had her dress hiked up her thighs. Omar had her backed against a tree and was pumping his load into her as she moaned loud enough to be heard over the roaring bears now battling in the arena. No one seemed to notice or care that the almost mate of the late alpha was getting thoroughly f*cked where everyone could see.

“Brooks and Darren,” the caller yelled out.

Inhaling deeply to wipe the sight of Merit and Omar from his mind, he closed his eyes and opened them slowly, focusing on Darren. He was big, and a good fighter, but Brooks’ bear was secure in his impending victory. He had yet to find a match for his animal, and Darren wasn’t going to be the first.

At twenty-four, Brooks had waited until he was seasoned in the arena, until his bear was full-grown and mature enough to win this fight. He’d waited until his gangly legs and arms had been layered with muscle. Brooks had waited to challenge for alpha until he knew he was ready, not just physically, but mentally as well. If he won here today, he would lead his clan into battle, then in the aftermath, he’d bring it back to its former glory.